| School
Board meets
Enrollment numbers were discussed at the October meeting of the School Board Monday, Oct. 15 and showed Prairie with their lowest enrollment since 1970 at 381 students. Safety busing was approved again for those students in town who get on the bus at either The Hangout or the old Elementary School. Full day, every day Kindergarten was discussed. Superintendent Rene’ Forsmann is seeking input as to whether patrons would be in favor of this or not. She said there would not be much in the way of additional costs to the District to do this and an argument for it is the amount of material to be taught. With full day Kindergarten 5 days a week they would be ahead of the curve when starting 1st grade. An argument against is whether 5 year olds are quite ready for all-day everyday schooling. A Center for Discovery update was given showing it is paying the bills at this time. Forsmann said it appears to be a needed service and doesn’t need to make money, but shouldn’t cost the District money either. She will continue to provide the board with an update each money of the financials and will add data on day to day attendance. The continuous improvement plan was approved as were updates to the Special Education Manual. Both are something required by the state. In the facility update Forsmann said a diaper deck was added to the family bathroom at the jr./sr. high school gym. Tara Rowland asked if one could be added at the Elementary School as well. No new projects have been added as yet for next summer. In her superintendent’s report Forsmann she and some staff attended a training in Boise Oct. 1-2 for positive behavior reinforcement. She talked with David Shears about getting a new bus. He will work up specs by the November meeting. They are looking at likely trading in the old bus they are looking to replace. She is also looking into working up data on classified salaries and will present at the next meeting. She met with Cottonwood Police and reviewed the lockdown procedures. A drill will be scheduled with law enforcement present. Staff from Dr. Wilkinson’s dentistry presented dental hygiene last Friday at the Elementary School. A Living Voice presentation is set for Wednesday, Oct. 17. Parent-teacher conferences will be Nov. 6-7 and report cards go home Nov. 8. An accelerated reader party is also set for Nov. 8. A K-1 Reading Buddy program is being started with the help of Idaho Forest Group. The program will start in the second quarter. Jon Rehder reported teachers attended the LCSC Dual Credit forum Oct. 5 Mrs. Quintal took the junior class to the U of I for a college day on Oct. 3. The PSAT was taken by 10th graders and some 11th graders on Oct. 10. The ACT will be given at Prairie on Oct. 27. Students gone to state volleyball, football at Wallace or state cross country have the option to take it at Grangeville on a different date. The ASVAB test for all juniors will be taken Oct. 29. Prairie Jr./Sr. High and Prairie Elementary each had a team at the Scratch for Schools put on by the Idaho Lottery. The high school team earned $314 and the elementary $182. The meeting adjourned at 6:42 p.m. The next regular meeting will be Monday Jan. 19 at 5:30 p.m. |
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